I Should've Told You
by charley07
Summary: Aria is twenty weeks pregnant with her first child at twenty-two but the father has no idea. What happens when she blurts the news out unexpectedly and how will he react?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I'm really tired and it's waaaay late but this idea popped into my head and I had to write it down before I could go to bed. I know it's not my best but I wrote it in less than an hour so hopefully you'll cut me a little slack. Some of it might seem out of character or unlikely but I'm pretty pleased with it so I hope you all like it, as well. It's a oneshot so there won't be any other chapters. If you like it, let me know what you think. If you don't, let me know why; I take constructive criticism like a champ. Reviews, whether positive or negative, are ALWAYS appreciated, even if it's only a short sentence. Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I don't own. It's mostly Sara Shepard or ABC Family.**

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><p>Aria stared at the black and white photo in her hands and sighed. "This is not good."<p>

"Oh, stop it," Hanna rolled her eyes as the two girls walked out of the medical center. "You were so excited about all this baby stuff until we got here."

"Yeah, and then I saw the fuzzy picture on the screen and heard the faint heartbeat and it hit me for the first time that I'm bringing another human being into this world. Alone," she added after a pause. "I'm twenty-two-years-old. What do I know about having a baby?"

"You're a reader and I'm pretty sure there are like, millions of books on this," Hanna replied as she unlocking her SUV. "And your parents have already promised to stand by you through everything, just like me, Emily, and Spencer." She glanced sideways at her friend once they were comfortably seated in the car. "When are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know," Aria mumbled. "We haven't spoken in five months and I don't think I should open with, 'Hey, guess what? I'm having your baby' the first time I talk to him again."

Hanna started the engine and backed out of her parking spot. "I know it's not exactly ideal but he deserves to know; it's his kid, too."

"I'm aware," Aria grumbled, pressing her head to the window. "I just don't know how I'm going to tell him just yet."

That night, Aria sat in her bedroom of the apartment she shared with Emily, looking out over the quiet town of Rosewood. After living in Philadelphia for four years while studying English at the University of Pennsylvania, she'd returned home after graduation to work on her Master's degree at Hollis College. At the time of that decision, she'd been happily in love but now, many months later, she was alone and pregnant, knee-deep in coursework, and unsure of how to tell the father of her child there was going to _be _a child.

"Hey," Emily said softly, breaking into the silence. "I'm gonna meet Maya for dinner. Do you want to come?"

"No, you go," Aria replied. "Tell her I said hi."

Emily hesitated. "You seem a little sad. I could stay home; Maya would understand."

"It's fine," Aria assured her, putting on her best fake smile. "Go on, Em."

"Okay," Emily muttered. "But if you get bored or anything, you can call me."

"Sure," Aria agreed, knowing she would never do that. "Have fun."

As soon as Emily was gone, Aria made her way into the living room and turned on the television. Over the last couple of weeks, holiday films had taken over cable and she'd already spent nights in watching _The Holiday, Elf, _and _Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. _Tonight was no different as she turned on her favorite guilty pleasure channel.

_"And tonight, continuing our 25 Days of Christmas countdown, ABC Family presents the broadcast premiere of _Love Actually_," _the voiceover said during the commercial.

Aria froze. For the last six holiday seasons, that had been _their _Christmas movie. They'd watched it every Christmas Eve and she knew most of it by heart now. Fall semester of her junior year of college, Aria had spent the semester abroad in England and when she returned home the week before Christmas, they'd had a reunion at the airport reminiscent of those in the film. Tears inexplicably filled her eyes as Hugh Grant's voice filled the room at the beginning and she immediately turned the TV off.

"Hi, sweetie," Ella said as she answered the phone moments later when Aria called her parents' house. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Aria lied, wiping her eyes. "Emily's out with Maya and I just thought I'd call and see what you guys are all doing."

Ella heard the sadness in her daughter's voice but knew better than to bring it up. "Well, Mike is out with friends so it's just your dad and me tonight. We had spaghetti for dinner and are planning to watch _It's a Wonderful Life_. Do you want to come over and join us?"

"No," Aria denied. "You guys should have the night to yourselves."

"If you're sure," Ella murmured. "Oh, how did the doctor's appointment go?"

"It was fine," Aria said. "The baby is growing at a normal pace and Dr. Tucker assured me he or she is perfectly healthy but it was positioned weird so I can go back in two days to find out the sex."

Ella set her and Byron's dinner plates in the sink. "Are you going to?"

"Yeah, I think so," Aria confirmed. "I'll want to be prepared and I'm not very fond of surprises."

"I'm glad," Ella smiled. "I was hoping you'd find out." She leaned against her kitchen counter. "We saw him today."

"Yeah?" Aria mused. "How was he?"

"Same old Ezra," Ella replied. "He was pleasant but I could tell it was hard for him to speak to us because of the break-up. I know I said I wouldn't pester you about it but I really think it's time you tell him. We both know he'll be as supportive as he possibly can."

Aria frowned. "I know, Mom. I'll tell him soon."

"Okay," Ella sighed. "If you change your mind about watching the movie with us, you can come on over whenever."

"Thanks," Aria mumbled. "Bye."

Aria tossed her cell phone down beside her on the couch and glanced out the window. Snow had started falling quite heavily, already covering the streets and cars below in a white blanket. People on the sidewalks hurried to wherever they were going, rushing to get out of the inclement weather as soon as possible. Just as she went to turn away, a familiar figure caught her eye as it emerged from the pharmacy across the street. Without thinking, she shoved her feet into the boots next to the coffee table, grabbed her coat, and nearly sprinted down the two flights of stairs of the apartment building to catch him.

"Ezra!" she called out breathlessly.

He turned slowly to face her and she felt her breath catch in her throat. After spending nearly six years together on an almost daily basis, five months apart had seemed like a lifetime and yet, her mother had been right—he was the same Ezra. His dark hair was still short but she could make out the slight curls and his blue eyes still shone as brightly as ever. And yet, she saw the sadness in them, the look of regret over everything that had happened.

"Hi," he finally said. "Do you live here?"

"Yes," she confirmed, walking towards him cautiously. "I moved in with Emily in August."

He nodded. "That's great. Um, how have you been?"

"Okay," she whispered. "Listen, I know this might be weird or sudden, but would you like to come inside? It would be nice to talk but I'd prefer not to do it during a blizzard."

Ezra smiled sadly. "I'm sorry but I can't. I'm supposed to have dinner with Hardy and his new girlfriend."

"Oh," she breathed. "Of course. Well, when you do have time, I'd really like to talk to you; it's important."

"All right," he agreed. "I'll call you soon."

Before she could get another word in, he turned again and continued walking down the sidewalk. With a feeling of defeat, Aria made her way back into the building and to the safety and comfort of her apartment.

For Ezra, dinner was a disaster. Hardy told a number of inappropriate jokes and stale stories Ezra had heard probably three dozen times in the course of their eleven-year friendship, the new girlfriend was dim and shallow, and yet, none of that truly registered with him because all he could think about was seeing Aria. Their run-in had been brief and unexpected but it lit a fire in him that had slowly been burning out since they broke up in July. To this day, he still wasn't quite sure what had happened between them. They'd survived her four years of undergrad at Penn while he continued to teach at Hollis and even managed four months of long-distance while she did a semester at Oxford. When she decided to attend Hollis for her post-graduate work, Ezra had bought an engagement ring, planning a big, elaborate proposal before her classes began—it would be allowed as he didn't teach any graduate level classes at the college. And then, just a month before the semester started, they got into a huge argument about their future and she'd left his apartment angrily, never to return. He tried calling and texting her for weeks but she never returned messages so he finally gave up. For her part of the split, she'd switched her classes to be on campus the days he wasn't so they never saw each other, even within the small Hollis community. The last five months had been pure torture but seeing her tonight, even if only for a minute, reignited every feeling he'd ever felt for her all over again.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, standing up. "Claire, it was a pleasure to meet you but there's somewhere I need to be." He put on his peacoat and hurried out of the restaurant.

"My name is Blair!" she indignantly called after him.

Ezra never heard her.

Aria was just falling asleep early when a sharp knock at the door of the apartment startled her. She climbed out of bed and walked to look out the peephole, surprised to find Ezra on the other side. She pulled the door back. "How did you know which apartment was mine?"

"I knocked on every door until I found it," he admitted. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," she nodded, letting him inside. She was suddenly very nervous, knowing she was perhaps just minutes for sharing the news of their child. "How was dinner?"

"I honestly don't know," he told her. "I tried to engage with Hardy and the girl—I think her name is Claire—but I couldn't get you out of my head."

She sat down on the suede couch and pulled her knees to her chest, glad she'd decided to sleep in a baggy sweatshirt so it covered her emerging baby bump. "Could you sit?"

Ezra took off his coat and joined her. "Before you tell me your important thing, I need to get something off my chest. Aria, I'm still completely in love with you and not a day goes by that I don't miss you like crazy. I know it's been four months and you've probably moved on but I'm really hoping you haven't. Besides, after almost six years together, what's four months, right?"

"Ezra, I'm pregnant," she blurted out quickly, looking down at her feet.

He stared at her. "What?"

"I'm five months pregnant," she whispered, this time looking at him.

"Is it mine?" he asked quietly, letting the news register.

"Of course it is," she confirmed, almost hurt by the question. "I haven't been with anyone else."

"And how long have you known about this?" he wanted to know.

"About ten weeks," she answered. "I know that I should've told you and I wante—,"

"You're damn right you should've told me!" Ezra cried, standing up to pace. "You've known for _ten weeks_ that we're having a baby and you didn't once think to tell me? You could've called me or stopped by my office; hell, I would've taken a lousy email so long as you still told me." He stopped to look at her again. "If you hadn't seen me tonight on the sidewalk, were you ever going to tell me?"

Aria stood, as well. "You know I would've. It's just, with the break-up, I wasn't sure how to talk to you because I just walked away and I wasn't sure you'd want to even see or hear from me."

"Who else knows?" he demanded. "Anyone?"

She crossed her arms. "My parents, Mike, and the girls. I've made sure to wear baggy or flowy tops to keep it from getting out and my small frame has helped but it's getting harder now."

"I can't believe this," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I can't believe I'm going to be a dad and you were hiding it from me. Don't you think I deserve the right to prepare for this major change, too? Or what about my parents? They're going to be grandparents just as much as yours are."

"Ezra, I know!" she exclaimed as tears filled her eyes for the second time that night. "I know I should've told you right after I took the first test but I was scared. I walked away from the best thing that ever happened to me and I was so terrified that you would think I would want to trap you into being with me again and that's not it at all. I want you to be a major part of this baby's life, whether we're together or not."

"Or not," he said coldly, picking up his coat. "I have to go. I can't really stand to be around you right now, Aria."

"Okay," she whispered, going to her purse on the kitchen counter. She brought back the photo of her ultrasound from earlier that afternoon. "Here, you can at least keep this."

He shoved the picture into his pocket and stormed out of the apartment, leaving her all alone to cry herself to sleep on the couch.

Having walked to the pharmacy and restaurant, Ezra had a long walk home in the snow to gather his thoughts on everything that had just transpired. Aria, the love of his life, had kept their unborn child a secret from him for more than two months. She knowingly avoided him at all costs to keep him from finding out and rather than tell him the news, she told her family and friends instead. Anger bubbled up inside of him and dark thoughts filled his mind. He would certainly want his paternal rights when the baby was born and he'd do everything he could to make sure he was just as important to the kid as Aria was. He reached his small apartment and immediately went to his fridge for a beer. Once he was settled in on his couch, he picked up his phone and called Hardy.

"Dude, what the hell?" Hardy said upon answering. "You called her 'Claire' and just bolted."

"I'm sorry," Ezra apologized half-heartedly. "Wait, isn't that her name?"

"It's _Blair_," Hardy told him. "What happened to you?"

Ezra took a deep breath. "I ran into Aria just before I met you guys and she'd told me she had something important to talk about so that thought sort of consumed me during dinner. I was sure she was going to tell me she wanted to get back together but I've never been more wrong in my life."

"She married?" Hardy guessed.

"Five months pregnant," Ezra corrected. "It's mine and she's kept it from me for ten weeks."

"Ouch," Hardy muttered. "That's rough, man. What did you say?"

"What do you think I said?" Ezra scoffed. "I'm furious that she didn't tell me. I know she's the mother and has to carry the baby for forty weeks but it's my kid, too, and I deserved to know. I can't believe she'd do this to me."

Hardy was momentarily quiet. "Well, it can't be easy for her either. You guys have been broken up for five months so I doubt she's had an easy time trying to figure out how to tell you. I mean, it's Aria; she's notorious for putting others first so I guess she was trying to figure things out. You haven't spoken since the split."

"Whose side are you on?" Ezra asked angrily. "She _lied_ to me, Hardy, about being pregnant with _my_ child. I think I have a right to be mad."

"Sure," Hardy agreed, "but maybe you should take it easy on her. She's twenty-two, alone, and you probably just scared the shit out of her."

"You know what?" Ezra said. "Forget I called." He hung up and threw his phone down.

He finished off his beer and stood up to get another one before realizing he still had his coat on. He went to remove it and felt the picture in his pocket. With a sigh, he pulled it out and instantly, all his anger and bitterness dissolved. He sat back down and stared at the little blob on the picture, indicating the baby—_his _baby—growing inside Aria at that very moment. That precious human being was going to come into the world whether he was upset with its mother or not and it was going to rely on Ezra for so much. He was nine when his parents split up and it had been hard on him and his older brother, Nico. Sure, they had two birthdays and two Christmas's every year but there were also custody battles and missed soccer games and various boyfriends and girlfriends coming in and out of their lives. And if he was being completely honest with himself, he knew that regardless of her neglect to tell him about the baby, Ezra was still madly in love with Aria and he wanted nothing more than to be with her, baby or no baby.

"He's a jerk," Spencer said to Aria two days later as they sat in the waiting room of Dr. Tucker's office before Aria's appointment to find out if she was having a boy or girl. "It's not like you were exactly thrilled by the news either; you avoided taking a pregnancy test for weeks, hoping you just had a bug."

Aria sighed. "I don't want to talk about Ezra anymore, Spence. I know you're trying to help but you're only making things worse."

"Aria?" Juliet, the office receptionist called over to her. "I'm afraid Dr. Tucker is double-booked for twelve-thirty so is there any chance I could push you back to two o'clock? I know it's really short notice but the other woman is two weeks overdue and getting incredibly frustrated."

"It's fine" Aria agreed. "I can just hang out for a while."

Spencer frowned. "I can't. I have a seminar to get to in Philly by three-thirty."

"You can go," Aria assured her. "I'll call my mom or see if Emily can meet me. I swear, it's fine."

"Are you sure?" Spencer asked. "I'm really sorry."

"Spence, I get it," Aria smiled. "Who am I to keep you from becoming the best lawyer the Hastings family has ever seen?"

Spencer hugged her and stood up. "Make sure someone comes up here to go in with you; you shouldn't do it alone."

"I won't," Aria replied. "I'll call you later to tell you if it's a boy or girl."

After Spencer left, Aria timidly pulled her cell phone from her purse and typed a text message.

_I know you don't want to hear from me—which I deserve—but I'm twenty weeks so I'm finding out the sex today. If you want to be here, you're more than welcome. Otherwise I can drop a picture off to you later if you prefer. Just in case, my appointment is at two with Dr. Tucker at the Rosewood Medical Complex._

Ezra sat in his office at Hollis and read over the text a dozen times. He opened the top left drawer of his desk, shuffled through some papers, and pulled out the blue velvet box that held the antique engagement ring he'd bought back in June. He knew proposing, especially after the way he'd behaved the other night, was ludicrous but he wanted to marry Aria. He wanted to raise a family with her and grow old together and watch their grandkids play in the backyard someday. No matter how he spun it in his head, she was always going to be the love of his life and she was having his child. He stood up and hurried to leave his office.

"Aria, Dr. Tucker will see you now," Juliet spoke up two hours later at the medical center. "Is it just you today?"

"No," a familiar voice said from the door to the waiting room.

Aria looked over her shoulder to see Ezra walking towards her. "You came."

"Hi," Ezra greeted Juliet. "I'm the father."

Juliet led them down the hallway to the examination room where Dr. Tucker was setting everything up.

"Sorry about the mix-up," he apologized. "Nina Mills is pushing forty-two weeks and is understandably irritated."

"Its fine," Aria said, climbing up onto the table. She raised her shirt up and looked over shyly at Ezra. "Uh, Dr. Tucker, this is the baby's father, Ezra Fitz."

Ezra reached over her to shake the doctor's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You, too," Dr. Tucker nodded, squirting the cool gel onto Aria's belly. "Now, hopefully the little girl or guy will be better positioned today so we can find out what you're having." He ran the transducer over her stomach. A quiet thumping noise filled the room. "There's the heartbeat; still sounding perfectly healthy."

Ezra took Aria's hand into his own upon hearing it. "That's our baby."

"Yeah," she nodded, "that's our baby."

"Ah-ha!" Dr. Tucker said triumphantly, moments later. He pointed to the screen. "Miss Montgomery, I can say with ninety-five-percent accuracy that the child in your womb is a little girl." He pointed out various body parts. "See here?"

Aria stared at the screen in both shock and happiness. "It's a girl?"

"A girl," Dr. Tucker beamed. "In about twenty weeks, the two of you will have a baby girl."

"That's amazing," Ezra breathed. "So incredible."

When the appointment was over, Ezra waited while Aria scheduled her next one with Juliet before leading her outside to the parking lot.

"I'm sorry," she spoke softly when they reached her Prius. "I know you probably don't want to hear that and I know it doesn't excuse what I did but if it's any consolation, I was ten weeks before I could bring myself to see Dr. Tucker to confirm it. I started having morning sickness about three weeks before that but I tried to convince myself it was just a virus and would pass. When it didn't, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer sat with me while I took a home pregnancy test and then stayed while I took four more."

"I'm sorry," he interrupted her. "I was completely out of line the other night. I know it was a huge step for you to reach out to me when we haven't spoken in five months but I behaved like a monster. I want to be there for you and the baby and we didn't exactly start this off on the right foot."

She chuckled lightly. "No, I guess not."

"And I meant what I said," he added, pressing his luck a bit further. "I am still in love with you and I do miss you every day. I know I said we wouldn't raise the baby together but that's the last thing I want. Aria, I want us to be a family." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the engagement ring. "I bought this back in June before everything blew up and I've held onto it for six months, hoping I'd get a chance to give it to you someday."

"Ezra," she gasped. "I don't want you to think you have to marry me because of this."

"I don't," he denied. "I want to marry you because I've been in love with you for six-and-a-half-years and I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. I know you're going to be an incredible mother to our daughter and I want to prove that I'll be the best father and husband I can be." He took her left hand. "If you'll have me, that is."

Once again, tears filled her eyes. "Of course I'll have you. I've wanted you since I was sixteen."

"Good," he beamed, placing the ring on her finger. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "I'm never letting you go again, Aria Montgomery."

"You better not," she smiled, resting his hands on her belly. "You're stuck with us now."

He kissed her again. "I will gladly accept that."


	2. Question?

**Okay, so if you're a reader of these stories and an author writes a one-shot you like and swears it will only be a one-shot, if you ever want to convince them to continue, band together and tell them you love it and that they should. I know that sounds strange but everyone like a good ego boost now and again. So, with that said, I will write a second chapter to this, set sometime in the future. I'm going to let you guys, the wonderful readers, choose what event I write.**

**1. Aria and Ezra's wedding day (she would be quite pregnant)**

**2. Aria going into labor and all that happens at the hospital (including a very adorable moment between Ezra and the newborn)  
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**3. It's one year later at Christmas, Aria and Ezra are married, and they're celebrating their daughter's first holiday season**

******Like I said, I was completely appreciative of your comments and feedback and whatnot so you convinced me to give you just a little bit more. Now it's up to you to let me know what you'd most prefer to read. As a warning, I'm NOT writing all three, regardless of what you might wish for. Haha. Sorry. **


	3. Baby Fitz

**Okay, so I've decided that since I like where this ends but it isn't very long, I'll go ahead and ALSO write the family's first Christmas, as well. You guys are good. It warms my heart that you like this story so much and wanted to see both scenes. I'm finished with school now so I'm hoping I'll get the third-and final (for real this time)-part up by Friday but work is killing me so we'll see. I just don't like writing holidays that have passed, even if these aren't real people and whatnot. As always, thanks SO much for the reviews and alerts and support. It means the world to me.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.**

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><p>Ezra was just putting away his red pen for grading essays when he heard a strange noise come from his and Aria's bedroom. "Aria?"<p>

"Um, can you come here?" she called to him.

He shoved everything into his bag and hurried to her. "Are you all right?"

"I think my water broke," she muttered. "Can you call Dr. Tucker and find my hospital bag? I shoved it under the bed last week."

"Oh, my God," he breathed, going for the bag first before pulling his cell phone from his pocket to call their obstetrician.

In the meantime, Aria went to the bathroom to change into clean clothes and brush her teeth, trying to remain calm. She knew Ezra—who was usually cool and collected—would be freaking out so one of them had to stay sane. Hearing him run around their bedroom made her smile because she knew that despite his anxiety, he was ridiculously excited. He'd spent the last several days baby-proofing everything in sight, even though their daughter wouldn't start getting into things for a while, and most of the nursery decorating had been done by him, though Hanna had supervised with a watchful eye.

"Okay, Dr. Tucker is going to meet us at the hospital and he said he'd let them know we're coming," Ezra told her when he finished his phone call. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "He told me the first baby usually has the longest labor process so it could be all night; I'm taking it one step at a time."

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she smiled, reaching up to kiss him. "And in case I say nasty things to you while I'm giving birth, please know I don't mean it."

Ezra chuckled. "I know." He pulled away. "Are you ready?"

"Let's go have a baby," she nodded.

Half an hour later, Aria was situated into a private room at Rosewood General Hospital with nearly a dozen people surrounding her—Ezra, Ella, Byron, Mike, Hanna, Caleb, Spencer, Emily, Hardy, Ezra's dad, and his brother—while Dr. Tucker spoke quietly with a nurse in the corner.

"Well, Mrs. Fitz, it seems like you're in for a long night," Dr. Tucker finally spoke up. "I know that's probably the last thing you want to hear but it looks like you're dilating rather slowly."

Aria sighed. "I expected that. The contractions aren't so terrible yet so for now, I'm okay."

"Good," Dr. Tucker grinned. "I'll be back to check on you soon."

"Is there anything you need?" Ella asked, brushing her daughter's hair back from her face.

"No, I'm good," Aria declared.

Spencer, who'd been texting Toby, tucked her phone into her purse. "Toby says he's sorry he's not here but he's with his boss in New York for the weekend at some conference."

"It's cool," Aria said. "It's a little crowded in here as it is."

"Do you want us to go?" Paul Fitz offered to his daughter-in-law.

"No!" she cried. "I'm glad you're all here."

Emily hopped up to sit on the windowsill next to Hardy. "Have you decided on a name? I know you'd narrowed it down last week but have you picked one?"

"We think so," Ezra answered. "But we're going to wait til we see her before we make it official. Her middle name will for sure be Alison though."

Hanna smiled softly. "That's nice."

"She'd like that," Spencer added. "Always remembered."

Aria looked at her husband of just over a month. "It was actually his idea. Neither of us have lost any female family members we're close to—thank God—so he suggested we give her Alison as a middle name because she was so important to us."

"Can we have a hint about her name?" Emily pleaded. "Come on."

Ezra grinned. "She will be named for a prominent literary character but maybe not one you'd immediately think of."

"Elizabeth?" Byron guessed. "Daisy? Zooey? Scarlett?"

"No, no, no, and no," Ezra denied. "Sorry."

"Hanna smirked. "Hermione?"

"I wish," Aria laughed. "He says you wouldn't think of it immediately but when you hear it, it'll sort of make sense. Also, you'll think it's weird but again, it'll make sense."

Ella sat down on the edge of Aria's bed. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be beautiful and we'll love it."

"I hope," Aria breathed.

After several hours of little action, the room started to clear. Hardy had to work early in the morning in Philadelphia, Caleb had work he needed to finish at home, Paul and Nico wanted to give some space so they went to their hotel across the street, and Mike had gone down to the cafeteria to eat.

"Um, do you all mind if I talk to the girls alone?" Aria requested of her husband and parents.

"Sure," Ezra agreed, knowing what she wanted to talk to them about. "I'm gonna get some coffee and call my mom."

Once the three of them were gone, Aria looked at her three best friends. "I've probably spent more time on this subject than thinking of a name so it's plagued me for weeks now. Ezra's family is Catholic and we want our daughter to have traditional godparents. Hardy—God help her—is going to be her godfather and we agreed one of my friends would be her godmother. The thing is, you're all three equally important to me so my question is: would all three of you do it?"

"Yes!" Hanna answered quickly.

Spencer grinned. "Of course we all."

Emily agreed. "You don't even have to ask."

Tears filled Aria's eyes. "Thanks."

The other three carefully enveloped her in a group hug.

"You're going to be like, the best mom ever," Hanna stated. "You've always been the most maternal. When things go wrong, you immediately want to fix them so people don't get hurt. That matters."

"She's right," Spencer added. "That little girl won the parental lottery."

"Well, we'll see," Aria chuckled.

Ezra stuck his head into the room. "Can I come back in now?"

"Yes," Aria confirmed. "They all agreed."

"Awesome," he beamed. "It really means a lot to us."

Hanna made a face. "You know what would mean a lot to us? If you'd tell us what you're naming her."

"Hanna," Aria sighed. "She'll be here—hopefully—in just a couple hours and then you'll know."

"Let this be a lesson in patience," Spencer advised.

"Oh, shut up," Hanna grumbled. "I'm gonna go call Caleb."

Finally, at nearly nine in the evening, Dr. Tucker gave Aria the best news she could possibly stand: it was time to start pushing.

"This is it," Ezra murmured, clutching her hand. "In a very short period of time, we're gonna have a baby girl."

"Yeah," she breathed as Dr. Tucker and his nurse prepared to deliver. "Why did I decide against the epidural?"

"No idea," he chuckled. "But you're gonna be great and I'm going to be here every step of the way. Don't worry about hurting my hand either."

"Oh, I'm not," she smirked.

"All right, Aria, get ready to push," Dr. Tucker instructed. "One, two, three, push!"

With as much force as she could muster, Aria pushed, squeezing Ezra's hand as she did.

"How long do you think it's going to take?" Hanna asked as she paced in the waiting room.

Ella shrugged. "It could be a while. When I had Mike, even after I started pushing, he didn't come for an hour."

"An hour?" Hanna groaned.

Spencer smirked. "Patience really isn't your strong suit."

"Quiet, Hastings," Hanna snapped.

The doors to the waiting room opened and Paul and Nico hurried in.

"Anything yet?" Nico asked. "I still can't believe my baby brother is having a baby."

"Nothing yet," Byron spoke up. "Has anyone spoke to your mother?"

Paul rolled his eyes. "The dragon lady is on a cruise in the Mediterranean so it's unlikely we'd get in touch with her."

"Dad," Nico warned. "I left her a voicemail on the way here and said I'd call her when the baby came. I'm sure she'll get back to us when she can."

Twenty minutes later, an ecstatic Ezra made his way into the room from the delivery wing. "We have a baby."

"Yay!" Hanna shrieked, hugging Emily and Spencer in the excitement. "What's her name?"

Ella waved a hand. "Can we meet her?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "Aria is worn out so you can't stay too long but she wants to introduce you all before we kick you out." He led them all back to Aria's room and pushed back the door to reveal her sitting up in bed, holding a bundle wrapped in a white blanket in her arms.

"Everyone," she spoke quietly, "this is Radley Alison Fitz."

Mike's jaw dropped. "You named your daughter 'Radley?' That's a boy name. Actually, it's more like a _last _name."

"Maybe," Ezra shrugged, "but Boo Radley is the quiet hero in _To Kill a Mockingbird_."

"Yeah, and?" Mike scoffed.

"That's our book," Aria smiled up at her husband. "I told you it would sound weird but we like it."

"It'll be easy to explain," Spencer added. "When people question it—which they will—all she'll have to do is tell people her parents are both English teachers and they'll understand."

For twenty minutes Aria and Ezra let everyone take turns holding Radley, cooing over her tiny nose and ears, before the exhaustion kicked in and Aria politely asked everyone to leave.

"We'll see you in the morning, sweetie," Ella said, kissing her daughter's forehead. "She's absolutely beautiful."

"Yeah," Byron agreed, taking his turn to kiss his daughter. "And I love her name."

"Thanks, Dad," Aria grinned tiredly.

After everyone left, a nurse came in to check the baby and Aria. "And do you want us to take her to the nursery for the night?"

"No, I want to keep her here," Aria answered.

The nurse grinned. "All right. I'll be back later but if you need anything, just hit the button on your remote."

"I still can't believe she's ours," Ezra murmured as he sat on the edge of Aria's bed, looking down at Radley. "We have a baby."

"I know," Aria said, stifling a yawn. "She's so perfect. And she looks like you."

He heard how tired she was. "Aria, why don't I sit up with her for a while so you can sleep? You're exhausted."

"But I just want to hold her," she whined. "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

Ezra chuckled and carefully took Radley into his arms. "I think an hour right now would be okay." He kissed her. "I promise, we'll be right here when you wake up."

"Fine," Aria sighed, situating herself on her pillows. "Just an hour."

"Okay," he agreed, standing up. "I'll wake you up in sixty minutes."

It took less than forty-five seconds for Aria to fall asleep so Ezra walked around the room, rocking Radley in his arms.

"You see that beautiful girl sleeping there in the bed?" he asked the baby softly. "That's your mommy and she's the strongest person I know. I couldn't be any luckier that I get to spend the rest of my life with her and you're gonna be the luckiest little girl ever to have her as a mom. She's smart and kind and funny. She'll make you feel better, even when you think it's impossible. She'll be the most supportive person in your life. Well, she and I might fight for that title but that's a good thing. If you grow up to be half the woman she is, I know she and I will have done our job as your parents right." He kissed Radley's head. "Not that we'll ever tell you this when you're old enough to remember it but I didn't know about you for a while and I was really mad about that. But if you want to know a secret—one I'll never give your mother the satisfaction of knowing—she could've told me the day before you were born and I would love you and her just as much as I do right now. Your mother walking into that pub almost seven years ago was the best thing that ever happened to me because it led me to this exact moment, as the husband and father to the two most spectacular women on the planet. And I know, I might be a little biased but I think you guys will prove me right; your mom already has. No matter what happens in your life—whether you cure cancer or write a best-selling novel or even if you have a clandestine relationship with your high school English teacher—I will always, _always _be in your corner." He chuckled quietly. "But try to avoid dating your English teacher because I know from experience that it's incredibly difficult." Ezra looked at where Aria was sleeping and smiled. "But it was definitely worth it."


End file.
